Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes
Course: Dessert22
servings30
minutes25
minutesI love these cupcakes. I have been making them for year since discovering the recipe in the wonderful Sunset Magazine. I make these for both my children’s classes during Halloween and Thanksgiving. They are a hit with both kids and adults. The mascarpone in the frosting adds a zing which is nice and also makes it a lighter frosting then those made with butter and cream cheese. I always like to top it off with a chocolate button of some kind. I usually use Sonoma Chocolate. These are a family favorite and I usually make several batches of these, one recipe makes about 22 cupcakes.
**I always make the cupcakes the day before or morning of so they have plenty of time to cool before frosting them. You will also need time when you make the frosting about 1 hour to allow it to chill in the refrigerator before using.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey’s
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
- Frosting
8oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- Topping
22 chocolate pastilles
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, beat sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs, pumpkin, salt and vanilla until well blended.
- Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder in a medium bowl. Slowly add to wet ingredients and beating on medium speed until smooth.
- Line muffin pans with muffin cups and fill each one with about 3 Tablespoons of the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool Completely.
- Frosting: In a large bowl, beat mascarpone, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and chill until firm, about 1 hour. Spread on cupcakes and top with chocolate. Allow to chill before serving about 30 minutes.
